Ibutho Division
The 1st ''Ibutho Division'' was the first Planetary Force on the colony of Iota Zulu, and would become the core element of the Iota Zulu Armed Forces (IZAF). History Foundation The direct antecedent to Ibutho began in Morning Star, 197, as the armed component of the "Colony Defence Force (CDF)", a unit that consisted of early elements of the Agency of Technical Relief (AOTR) and IZAF. Over the next few months, Pel's Aurora was engulfed in war, and then-Colonial Deputy Ingran's security adviser urged the deputy to take efforts to safeguard the young colony against aggression. Furthermore, the elements of the CDF were growing and it was seen as prudent to divide the organization to create a more specialized and cohesive unit. In addition Iota Zulu's economy and industrial capacity had grown strong enough to begin producing and upgrading the equipment available for the troops. So, the CDF was disbanded and its constituent parts, the AOTR and IZAF, were reorganized. During this reorganization, the core elements of what would soon become the 1st Division 'Ibutho' took shape. Iota Zulu's original colonial sponsors, Tritach, lost the initial wars for influence over Blue Quadrant. As Iota Zulu was not yet capable of being independent, and in the interests of regional security, Deputy Ingran agreed to accept the Innovaganix sponsorship from Spiremos. Not long thereafter, Spiremos undertook the CARAPACE Defense Initiative which dispatched permanent garrisons of troops and ships to all Innovaganix colonies in the region, with the intent of protecting them from marauders and competing megacorps. Iota Zulu was in no position to refuse the troop presence, indeed at the time the council felt it prudent to cooperate with the sponsor's demands. Iota Zulu was acclimated to the neglectful attitude taken by its previous sponsors from Tritach, so this comparatively active and helpful approach was considered welcome to many. 5000 veteran troops arrived from Spiremos and began to train the colonial army and carry out security evaluations, issuing recommendations to the colonial administration to improve security against invasion. In space, the CARAPACE contribution to Iota Zulu's defense included three wargalleons (initially) and a sloop-of-war, the IVX Predator, until its destruction. While the troops were nominally under colonial command, except where it contradicts high command in Spiremos of course, they were generally viewed with caution by the colonial administration. Wherever possible, Iota Zulu preferred to use its own soldiers, the beginnings of the Ibutho division, to carry out military duties, which follow. First steps In Broad Light, 197, coinciding with the arrival of CARAPACE soldiers, and just prior to the aforementioned reorganization, the armed forces of Iota Zulu numbered about 5,000 men on paper, though in reality only a little more than 2,000 were active and had been issued weapons and equipment, mostly low-quality domestically manufactured Beamer carbines. Expecting an influx of prisoners from the Iota Ermina Campaign, 2000 of these soldiers, along with AOTR agents, were dispatched to IZ-3 (naval designation of Gschenk) to carry out 3 objectives: garrison the planet, keep the crew and workers safe and provide services and communication, and finally to keep the potential prisoners under control. Given the hellish, volcanic conditions of Andore and the low quality of life faced by the garrison and its residents, a policy was put in place to shuffle out the garrison troopers and give them a generous leave home every few months, during which time their place would be taken by another regiment. This was done at the insistence of commander John Broomhall. These first troops that formed the garrison on Gschenk would eventually form the Ibutho division's 4th Regiment. The remaining soldiers on Isfiur were tasked to escort citizens on excursions outside Wetardom, adventurous types with a lot of free time during the planet's harsh summer, physically fit and given domestically-designed heat-resistant suits to be able to move through the planet's landscape comfortably despite the searing heat. Although the citizens themselves were little more than casual hikers, the soldiers who escorted them had received training in basic navigation techniques from the Innovaganix veterans, and a few of them took to drawing rudimentary maps of the new areas they visited. While most of these sight-seeing trips were uneventful and often cut short by obstacles such as radioactive caves and rough terrain, one of these expeditions would uncover the ancient Desan city of Eru-Judian, and so began a long-term effort to excavate and preserve the artifacts of the city. At first however news of a large and clearly artificial structure existing on Iota Zulu caused alarm. The area surrounding it was declared restricted, and enforcing this was a simple barrier patrolled by Iota Zulu soldiers. The CARAPACE garrison was informed of the find and participated in establishing the cordon and in the patrols, though did not investigate the matter further. Battle of Iota Zulu By Second Abundance of 197, the political climate in the region had changed and the colony found itself hostile to Innovaganix. Before long, the worst fears of Iota Zulu's citizenry were realized - the CARAPACE garrison turned against the population and began a mission to spread a virus through the city and wipe out the colony, as punishment for its rebellious intentions, as part of Operation Widow. The ensuing battle is very important to the history of the division, and in turn the military and more importantly the colony itself, a major turning point in the colony's steps toward nationhood. It was the first true engagement, a true test of IZAF doctrine, tactics, training, and equipment, and of course a test of the soldiers themselves. In the months that had elapsed since Broad Light however the military was in much better shape, and was ready to challenge Innovaganix. Just prior to the battle, the division could in theory mobilize about 11,170 soldiers (including NCOs) but about 2000 of this number was taking their turn to garrison Gschenk. Like all IZAF divisions each 'regiment' consisted of 1996 soldiers including NCOs, and a 6th smaller regiment called an 'armoured group' which was smaller than the other regiments but possessed the majority of the division's heavy armour - part of Iota Zulu's "Sword and Arrow" doctrine. The division's hierarchy was as follows: * 1st Regiment - 1996 soldiers, assigned 60 infantry fighting vehicles, with 1/3 of this number being configured with anti-personnel weapons (multi-lasers and heavy coilguns), another 1/3 being configured with anti-aircraft missile launchers, and the final 1/3 being equipped with anti-tank guided missiles. * 2nd Regiment - 1996 soldiers, all of whom were on Gschenk at the time of the battle. 60 IFVs configured in the same manner as the 1st Regiment's. * 3rd Regiment - 1996 soldiers, concentrated around Wetardom's heavy coil-cannon, calibrated towards attacking enemy starships in orbit. As a ground attack is the best way to neutralize such cannons, defense of this installation was considered a high priority in the event of an attack. * 4th Regiment - 1996 soldiers, 60 IFVs, on active duty in the hours leading up to the battle. * 5th Regiment - 1996 soldiers, 60 IFVs, on active duty in the hours leading up to the battle. * Armoured Group - 1190 soldiers, 60 tankettes. On active duty leading up to the battle. Divisional-level fire support consisted of just 150 medium-size coil-mortars, in addition to 10 heavy mortars which were mounted on light vehicles to act as mobile light artillery. At this stage the division was not completely mechanized, nor even motorized - the division's motor vehicles could only carry a max of 4,200 soldiers out of 11,170. Furthermore, not every soldier was armoured, with only about 6500 suits of Complex Hard Armour being available by the time of the battle. These factors proved mostly irrelevant in the coming fight, however. Despite these minor shortcomings, the troops of the division were considered adequately disciplined, sufficiently trained and professional, and confident. IZAF doctrine called for maneuver warfare, which itself required high unit cohesion - Ibutho was successful in living up to these expectations. A shortage of ammunition would however come to plague the division during the final stages of the battle however, delaying the offensive to reconquer the rest of the Innovaganix-occupied city and forcing the council to overclock a Nanofactory and stagger their maneuvers in order to ensure the men had enough ammunition. All of Ibutho's equipment was designed by the IZAF and manufactured locally, from the small arms to the tankettes. On the design side of this however IZAF's R&D department cooperated with foreigners - in particular IZAF's allies, the Giannist Hierarchy - to develop battle-ready weapons ideal for Isfiur's climate and IZAF doctrine. The division's regiments all took casualties, especially the 5th, which was almost destroyed, but all of its soldiers served with distinction and were able to prevent the Innovaganix troops from deploying devastating bioweapons against the civilian population. The Veterans of the 5th and several soldiers from other regiments were at this point formed into the elite Battle Company. While a new regiment was drafted to fill the gap left by the 5th, it became Ibutho's 6th regiment, and the number and banner of Ibutho's 5th were retired in honour of the battle. In the months following the battle as Iota Zulu declared itself the independant Eru-Judian Commonwealth, IZAF continued to grow, with two new divisions being raised immediately and the Foreign Guard growing to 6 regiments. This meant that Ibutho was no longer the sole bearer of the burden of the colony's defence, but it remained of key importance, and was long considered IZAF's elite. Category:Eru-Judian articles Category:Military units